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Nagesh Belludi

Inspirational Quotations #1019

October 15, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi

Take risks … be willing to put your mind and your spirit, your time and your energy, your stomach and your emotions on the line. To search for a safe place, to search for an end to a rainbow, is to search for a place that you will hate once you find it. The soul must be nourished along with the bank account and the resume. The best nourishment for any soul is to create your own risks.
—Jim Lehrer (American Television Journalist)

A mighty flame followeth a tiny spark.
—Dante Alighieri (Italian Poet, Philosopher)

Cheerful looks make every dish a feast; and it is that which crowns a welcome.
—Philip Massinger (English Playwright)

All that is human must retrograde if it does not advance.
—Edward Gibbon (English Historian)

I think it would be well, and proper, and obedient, and pure, to grasp your one necessity and not let it go, to dangle from it limp wherever it takes you. Then even death, where you’re going no matter how you live, cannot you part.
—Annie Dillard (American Writer)

Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, add what is essentially your own.
—Bruce Lee (American Martial Artist)

Each man must grant himself the emotions that he needs and the morality that suits him.
—Remy de Gourmont (French Poet, Writer)

Nature provides exceptions to every rule.
—Margaret Fuller (American Journalist, Feminist)

There is no prison like a guilty conscience.
—Welsh Proverb

Faith is not a commodity that you either have or don’t have enough of, or the right kind of. It’s an ongoing process.
—Sharon Salzberg (Buddhist Teacher)

Wisdom is the daughter of experience.
—Leonardo da Vinci (Italian Polymath)

Most of us are umpires at heart; we like to call balls and strikes on somebody else.
—Leo Aikman (American Columnist, Humorist)

The big money is not in the buying or the selling, but in the sitting.
—Jesse Lauriston Livermore (American Investor)

I think, at a child’s birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity.
—Eleanor Roosevelt (American Humanitarian)

Filed Under: Inspirational Quotations

The Problem with People Who Don’t Think They Can Change

October 12, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

One expression I dislike is “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” It’s a defeatist attitude that limits the realm of possibilities. By saying, “That’s just the way I am,” we are closing ourselves off to change and cultivating a stubborn exterior that rejects suggestions to improve. It’s as if we’re saying, “I don’t want to learn anymore. Life is perfect for me as it is, and I refuse to change. The world should bend to my will.”

Many become so comfortable with what works for them that they resist change, even when presented with new information that contradicts their beliefs. These beliefs become intertwined with their identity, and challenging them requires self-examination and a willingness to see the world in a new light. Unfortunately, most people hesitate to do so, as it is an attitudinal rather than intellectual handicap.

In reality, life should transform us. Learning and growing means keeping an open mind and seeking new experiences that challenge our assumptions.

Wondering what to read next?

  1. The Longest Holdout: The Shoichi Yokoi Fallacy
  2. No One Has a Monopoly on Truth
  3. Saying is Believing: Why People Are Reluctant to Change an Expressed Opinion
  4. Beyond the Illusion: The Barnum Effect and Personality Tests
  5. The Streisand Effect: When Trying to Hide Only Makes it Shine

Filed Under: Mental Models, Sharpening Your Skills Tagged With: Attitudes, Critical Thinking, Persuasion, Psychology, Wisdom

Why Settle?

October 9, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

We often believe we deserve so much better, but along the way, we settle. We settle for something not quite right.

It’s a choice we get to make every day. We settle one step at a time—because we don’t take the time to find “the one,” especially, or at least, only, when the stakes are big enough.

Yes, perfectionism is the enemy of ‘done.’ But not all perfectionism is detrimental … only obsessive, maladaptive perfectionism is. Haven’t our perfectionist efforts yielded the most good & satisfaction?

Idea for Impact: Learn to listen to your voice and live life on your own terms. Be very selective when pushing yourself to the max. Don’t settle for less than what you deserve, especially when your effort is wholly justified. Be more or less perfectionistic as required.

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Filed Under: Living the Good Life, Sharpening Your Skills Tagged With: Assertiveness, Discipline, Getting Things Done, Goals, Perfectionism, Procrastination

Inspirational Quotations #1018

October 8, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi

Errors of taste are very often the outward sign of a deep fault of sensibility.
—Jonathan Miller (English Stage Director)

Virtue is the first title of nobility.
—Moliere (French Playwright)

Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible.
—Carl Gustav Jung (Swiss Psychologist)

I think there is something, more important than believing: Action! The world is full of dreamers, there aren’t enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision.
—W. Clement Stone (American Self-help Guru)

Though we come and go, and pass into the shadows, where we leave behind us stories told—on paper, on the wings of butterflies, on the wind, on the hearts of others—there we are remembered, there we work magic and great change—passing on the fire like a torch—forever and forever. Till the sky falls, and all things are flawless and need no words at all.
—Tanith Lee (British Science Fiction Writer)

Many men build as cathedrals were built, the part nearest the ground finished; but that part which soars toward heaven, the turrets and the spires, forever incomplete.
—Henry Ward Beecher (American Protestant Clergyman)

Mankind must destroy anti-humanity before it becomes extinct itself.
—John Hersey (American Novelist, Journalist)

Money is a tool—know how much is enough.
—Brad Feld (American Entrepreneur, Investor)

Life is not to live, but to be well.
—Martial (Ancient Roman Latin Poet)

Loneliness is not cured by human company. Loneliness is cured by contact with reality.
—Anthony de Mello (Indian-born American Theologian)

Our own faults are those we are the first to detect, and the last to forgive, in others.
—Letitia Elizabeth Landon (English Poet, Novelist)

Nature cares nothing for logic, our human logic: she has her own, which we do not recognize and do not acknowledge until we are crushed under its wheel.
—Ivan Turgenev (Russian Novelist, Playwright)

Filed Under: Inspirational Quotations

Ethics Lessons From Akira Kurosawa’s ‘High and Low’

October 5, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

The celebrated Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa is known for crafting movies that grapple with moral dilemmas. In his highly regarded work, High and Low (1962,) a successful self-made millionaire faces a wrenching ethical conundrum: his son has been abducted, and he must give up everything he has worked hard for to secure the ransom. However, he soon discovers that the kidnapper mistakenly took his chauffeur’s son instead. The question now becomes: is the life of the worker’s child worth the same sacrifice as his own? In a powerful scene, the millionaire and the chauffeur lock eyes, and the viewers are left to ponder if all lives are equally valuable.

What makes this movie a standout is its portrayal of the intricacies involved in making difficult moral choices. Our conscience cannot always provide us with the necessary guidance to navigate the complex ethical issues we face in modern society, particularly when competing values and interests are at play. Ethical decisions are about more than just meeting a specific standard, as many dilemmas are so multifaceted that it’s difficult to distinguish good from evil or determine which choice is most worthy of preference.

The key takeaway is that tackling complicated moral problems requires continuous effort and investment in researching and contemplating the proper response. Seeking input from trusted colleagues who can provide a secure space to explore the nuances and implications of difficult decisions, particularly those you might not feel comfortable discussing openly due to societal pressures, is critical.

Wondering what to read next?

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  3. Virtue Deferred: Marcial Maciel, The Catholic Church, and How Institutions Learn to Look Away
  4. Making Exceptions “Just Once” is a Slippery Slope
  5. Is Ethics Just About Getting Caught?

Filed Under: Mental Models, Sharpening Your Skills, The Great Innovators Tagged With: Attitudes, Biases, Conflict, Conviction, Critical Thinking, Decision-Making, Ethics, Integrity, Philosophy, Psychology

How to (Finally!) Stop Procrastinating, Just Do It

October 2, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Go to the gym consistently and unfailingly, even if it’s just to walk on the treadmill for ten minutes.

Even if your legs are sore, just go.

Even if you’re not feeling it, just go.

Even if there’s that something else you’d rather be doing, just go.

Just go.

Because once you’re there at the gym, you usually will get into the mood to run or achieve something more substantial.

Just do it.

Compel yourself to do just a bit of what you’re struggling to do.

Just taking action, even if you don’t plan on achieving much, can usually help you get and stay motivated.

Inertia will give way to momentum.

Idea for Impact: The “Just Do It” attitude can help you surmount mental blocks. Folks who actually get things done work at whatever they are interested in, even when they don’t feel like doing it.

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  3. How to Turn Your Procrastination Time into Productive Time
  4. 5 Minutes to Greater Productivity [Two-Minute Mentor #11]
  5. Use Friction to Make or Break Habits

Filed Under: Mental Models, Sharpening Your Skills Tagged With: Discipline, Lifehacks, Motivation, Procrastination, Time Management

Inspirational Quotations #1017

October 1, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi

Pay as little attention to discouragement as possible. Plough ahead as a steamer does, rough or smooth—rain or shine. To carry your cargo and make your port is the point.
—Maltbie Davenport Babcock (American Clergyman)

The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land.
—Aldo Leopold (American Conservationist)

It doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice.
—Deng Xiaoping (Chinese Statesman)

The best way to lose weight is to put the handle of the fridge two inches from the ground.
—Dawn French (Welsh Comedienne, Actress)

Right action is not a fixed right action, it is an action that is conditioned by love and respect. It is an action that considers the consequences of our actions in terms of whether or not they cause suffering.
—Martine Batchelor (French Buddhist Teacher)

The true measure of a career is to be able to be content, even proud, that you succeeded through your own endeavors without leaving a trail of casualties in your wake.
—Alan Greenspan (American Economist)

Words do not change their meanings so drastically in the course of centuries as, in our minds, names do in the course of a year or two.
—Marcel Proust (French Novelist)

Even the bitterest words that people say to one another seldom seem as divisive as the unspoken words that one expects from the other in vain.
—Hans Carossa (German Novelist)

The only reason people do not know much is because they do not care to know. They are incurious. Incuriousity is the oddest and most foolish failing there is.
—Stephen Fry (English Actor, Writer)

Slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you.
—Zen Proverb (Japanese School of Mahayana Buddhism)

When the adulation of life is gone, the coward sneaks to his death, but the brave live on.
—George Sewell (English Physician, Poet)

Wisdom is one thing, to know how to make true judgment, how all things are steered through all things.
—Heraclitus (Ancient Greek Philosopher)

Filed Under: Inspirational Quotations

Where Empowerment Fails

September 28, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Empowerment—giving employees greater autonomy—boosts engagement and creativity. It builds job satisfaction and improves retention. However, the success of empowerment initiatives depends on the personality traits of the managers implementing them down in the trenches.

Middle managers who value behaviors like team orientation, collaboration, and respectful interactions are more likely to enable their teams to set their own goals and entrust them to complete tasks in their way. But many managers in hierarchical structures embrace a certain command-and-control reflex that gets triggered in positions of power. Empowerment means transferring power to someone else, something they loathe. The alpha dimension to the personalities of these managers ends up micromanaging and impeding the autonomy of those in their team.

Idea for Impact: Relinquishing control over others and trusting employees not to abuse that responsibility isn’t easy for most managers; it takes someone very self-confident and secure to discharge empowerment.

Wondering what to read next?

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Filed Under: Leading Teams, Managing People Tagged With: Employee Development, Likeability, Mentoring, Motivation, Performance Management, Winning on the Job

Why You Should Make a Daily Appointment with Your Worries

September 25, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Set aside specific 15- to 30-minute appointments on your calendar for focused “Worry Time.”

Make them regular if possible, as in “I’ll worry from 4:00 to 4:30 p.m. every evening.”

If a worry emerges before or after your Worry Time, jot it down and tackle it later.

For the span of your set Worry Time, agonize over whatever is bothering you. Chew on your problems or write them down. Then commit yourself to get back to your routine.

Don’t do this right before bed or first thing in the morning, especially if you tend to wake up with a sense of anxiety over everything that needs to be done.

Ruminating about the past and worrying about the future makes staying in the present moment impossible. It’s mentally and emotionally draining. It interferes with moving forward. Therefore, by using this focused time for worrying, you can get your worries out of the way. Put off any emergent worries until your next scheduled worry session, just as you should ‘do’ emails at set points during the day instead of letting them disrupt your flow.

Limiting your time to worry can also make your Worry Time productive. By having a clear limit to how much time you can spend thinking about an issue, you can push yourself to seek a solution instead of ruminating endlessly.

With some practice, you’ll learn not to let those inevitable anxieties flood your thoughts throughout your day.

Wondering what to read next?

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  3. This ‘Morning Pages’ Practice is a Rebellion Against the Tyranny of Muddled Thinking
  4. Expressive Writing Can Help You Heal
  5. The Law of Petty Irritations

Filed Under: Living the Good Life, Mental Models, Sharpening Your Skills Tagged With: Anxiety, Introspection, Mindfulness, Task Management, Worry

Inspirational Quotations #1016

September 24, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi

A great writer is the friend and benefactor of his readers.
—Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay (English Writer, Politician)

The magic formula that successful businesses have discovered is to treat customers like guests and employees like people.
—Tom Peters (American Management Consultant)

The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what you want most for what you want right now.
—Zig Ziglar (American Author)

When your own life is threatened, your sense of empathy is blunted by a terrible, selfish hunger for survival.
—Yann Martel (Canadian Novelist)

Successful careers are those that realize in the man the dreams of the child.
—Wallace Stevens (American Poet)

Because it is dangerous to ignore the existence of the irrational. The more cultivated a person is, the more intelligent, the more repressed, then the more he needs some method of channeling the primitive impulses he’s worked so hard to subdue. Otherwise those powerful old forces will mass and strengthen until they are violent enough to break free, more violent for the delay, often strong enough to sweep the will away entirely.
—Donna Tartt (American Novelist)

We are alone, absolutely alone on this chance planet; and amid all the forms of life that surround us, not one, excepting the dog has made an alliance with us.
—Max De Pree (American Businessman)

Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle.
—Michelangelo (Italian Painter)

Pain was their body’s way of telling them that they’d pushed themselves to their limits—which was exactly where they were supposed to be.
—Richard Marcinko (American Navy Officer)

Ignorance is not merely a deficiency of knowledge but, in addition, it positively apprehends reality in a distinctive way. And being a distorted mode of conception, it creates a view of the world that is in opposition to, and in conflict with, the actual way the world is.
—Stephen Batchelor (British Buddhist Author, Teacher)

A man’s doubts and fears are his worst enemies.
—William Wrigley, Jr. (American Businessman)

Filed Under: Inspirational Quotations

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About: Nagesh Belludi [hire] is a St. Petersburg, Florida-based freethinker, investor, and leadership coach. He specializes in helping executives and companies ensure that the overall quality of their decision-making benefits isn’t compromised by a lack of a big-picture understanding.

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Unless otherwise stated in the individual document, the works above are © Nagesh Belludi under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license. You may quote, copy and share them freely, as long as you link back to RightAttitudes.com, don't make money with them, and don't modify the content. Enjoy!